Iranian Armed Forces are upgrading their capabilities in electronic warfare, Lieutenant Commander of Khatam Ul-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Alireza Sabahifard said, adding that the country is now equipped with advanced radars, missiles and artilleries.
“Today, the (Khatam Ul-Anbia) base is standing against the enemies as a lever of deterrence using the equipment and achievements” gained by the young people working in the country’s defense organizations, Sabahifard said in Tehran on Sunday.
“Today, despite the sanctions, we have reached good results in electronic warfare as well as the production of radar, missile and artillery tools, systems and equipment,” Fars News Agency quoted the commander as saying.
In relevant statements in October, a senior Iranian military commander said Iran’s defense forces have raised their electronic and IT capabilities because future threats and war on Iran will most likely be electronic and cyber war.
“The future wars will not be similar to the war during the 8 years of the Sacred Defense (i.e. Iraqi imposed war on Iran in 1980s) and we may face an intense and vast atmosphere of electronic war,” Commander of Khatam Ul-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmaeeli told FNA at the time.
The commander said the Iranian defense forces are promoting their capabilities to cope with the existing threat, and stated, “Therefore, we were necessitated to have our detection and identification systems equipped with different frequency bands and now they have this capability.”

IRGC Closely Monitoring Enemies’ Moves

Commander of the Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari emphasized his forces’ full preparedness to defend the country against any enemy aggression, and said the IRGC is closely monitoring even the slightest threatening moves by the enemies in the region.
“The IRGC as a body bearing an outstanding part of the responsibility for defending the Islamic Republic and its achievements will certainly monitor and pursue any threatening moves with sharper eyes,” Jafari said, addressing the IRGC Navy Forces in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.
“Our action mirrors enemy moves and positions; we have not made any aggression against any country, but if the enemies’ movements turn into direct or indirect threats, we will then assume defense as our inalienable right,” Fars News Agency quoted the commander as saying.
Jafari praised the high level of the preparedness of the Iranian military, saying, “The sworn enemies of the Islamic Republic do not dare to enter war with Iran because of our preparedness and improved capabilities for combating such threats.”
His remarks came after Iranian military officials and commanders raised their tone to tune up to the US and Israeli regime’s continued and growing threats against the Islamic Republic.
Israel and its close ally the United States accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, while they have never put forward any corroborative document to substantiate their allegations.
Both Washington and Tel Aviv possess advanced weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear warheads.
Iran strongly denies the charges, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population once fossil fuel eventually runs dry.
The Zionist regime has recently intensified its war rhetoric against Tehran, warning that it plans to hit Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iran has, in turn, warned that it would target Israel and its worldwide interests in case it comes under attack by the Tel Aviv.
The United States has also always stressed that military action is a main option for the White House to deter Iran’s progress in the field of nuclear technology.
In response, Iran has warned it would hit the US, Israel and their worldwide interests and close the strategic Strait of Hormuz if it became the target of a military attack over its nuclear program. Strait of Hormuz, the entrance to the strategic Persian Gulf waterway, is a major oil shipping route.

Repelling Threats
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander of the IRGC Ground Force General Abdollah Araqi underlined that the IRGC is fully prepared to repel any kind of threat and fight enemies in every battlefield.
“We enjoy the necessary preparedness to confront any military threat with full intelligence dominance and possessing powerful Armed Forces and will give a crushing response to any threat against our country,” Araqi said in Tehran on Sunday, Fars News Agency reported.
“The IRGC Ground Force along with other units of the Armed Forces have always maintained their readiness and today the IRGC Ground Force enjoys high combat capabilities and readiness and its personnel enjoy high morale,” he added.

US, Israel Seek Conflict Among Muslims

A senior lawmaker warned the Islamic countries against ploys by the US and Israel to get the Muslim world entangled in internal and sectarian clashes.
“The reality is that the strategy of the US and the Zionist regime (Israel) is to get Islamic countries embroiled in civil wars and the massacre of Muslims by themselves,” Chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said on Sunday.
“Its clear example is [in] Syria, where the deviant Takfiri mentality kills Muslims in the name of Islam and uses chemical weapons,” he added.
The lawmaker pointed out that the Takfiri crimes also target the followers of other divine religions. Such crimes, he added, have recently also targeted Lebanon’s security.
“The Islamic countries must liberate themselves from this US-Zionism ploy and aim their weapons in such a way as to defend themselves and counter the intruding enemies,” Boroujerdi stated.
On Wednesday, the militants operating in Syria and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition claimed that around 1,300 people were killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds in the Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar.
However, the Syrian government strongly rejected any role in the chemical attack, and later announced that the chemical attack had actually been carried out by the militants themselves as a false flag operation.
The announcement by Syria echoed earlier declarations by Russia, which said it had ‘new evidence’ that the chemical attack in the Damascus suburbs were of a ‘provocative nature’.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011.
A very large number of the militants operating inside Syria are reportedly foreign nationals.
According to reports, the West and its regional allies--especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey--are supporting the militants inside Syria.
Boroujerdi earlier said the US military is not ready to engage in a new front in Syria, warning that a possible war in the Arab country would spread across the whole region.
“I suppose the US will not repeat the mistake [Washington made] in Iraq and Afghanistan in Syria,” the legislator said.
“On the one hand, the US-- economically speaking and considering the fact that it is shouldering the heavy burden of the war in Afghanistan--has no capacity to open a new front, while on the other hand, US allies and NATO nations are still trapped in the mire of Afghanistan (war),” he explained.
Boroujerdi stressed that unlike in Afghanistan and Iraq, any military intervention in Syria would spread to other countries in the region. “Of course this contradicts the interests the Americans are pursuing in the Middle East,” he added.
The Iranian legislator’s remarks came one day after US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the Pentagon was moving forces into place in case US President Barack Obama opts for military action against Syria.
Boroujerdi reiterated Tehran’s position that the only way out of the prolonged crisis in Syria is through a peaceful political solution, which would end the western-backed militancy in the Arab country.
“Negotiations should be held with the aim of ending this crisis and the acts of the US and its allies, and particularly their support for terrorist groups [in Syria],” he urged, holding Washington responsible for any spillover of terrorism outside the Syrian borders.
The lawmaker also condemned a recent chemical attack in the suburbs of Damascus, expressing hope that UN inspectors in Syria will ‘have the courage’ to tell the world the truth about the deadly attack, which he said appears to a resort by desperate anti-government militants.

Tajiks Appreciate Iranian Medical Services

Tajik people have always voiced satisfaction with Iranian medical team’s services in Dushanbe, said Iran’s Ambassador to Tajikistan Ali Asghar She’rdoust who called on the Iranian officials in charge to expand medical services to the Central Asian nation.
Addressing the Iranian medical team in the capital city of Dushanbe who took part in a ceremony to commemorate noted Iranian scientist and polymath Avicenna and ‘Physicians Day’, She’rdoust said, “Offering medical services to Tajik people is very valuable, because in fact we are one nation,” IRNA reported.
He also appreciated Iran’s Red Crescent Society and Imam Khomeini Relief Committee work in the field of medical services in Tajikistan.
Iran and Tajikistan have recently accelerated expansion of ties and cooperation and observers believe that the good achievements gained in area of their mutual cooperation should be deemed as a result of the efforts made by the two countries’ officials.

New GovernorFor Central Bank

The General Assembly of the Central Bank of Iran appointed Valiollah Seyf as the CBI governor.
The CBI’s General Assembly, presided by President Hassan Rouhani, was held on Wednesday with Minister of Economy and Finance Ali Tayyebnia, Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh and Vice President for Strategic Planning and Supervision Mohammad Baqer Nobakht in attendance.
During the meeting, President Rouhani and other members of the General Assembly decided to appoint Seyf as new CBI Governor, Fars News Agency reported on Sunday.
Valiollah Seyf was the managing director of Karafarin Bank. He also served as chairman of the board of Future Bank B.S.C. and was its director since 2004.
He has over 30 years of banking experience as finance director, board member of Bank Sepah, chairman of the board and managing director of Bank Mellat, Bank Saderat, Bank Sepah and Bank Melli Iran.

Iran Forerunner in Caspian Sea Region

Iran’s Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Ali-Akbar Marzban said on Sunday that the Islamic Republic of Iran is a forerunner in all fields in the Caspian Sea region.
Marzban made the remarks during a visit to Amirabad Special Zone in the northern province of Mazandaran, IRNA reported.
He underlined that Iran enjoys appropriate status at international and regional bodies, particularly in the field of protecting environment.
Compared to regional states, Iran has a privileged position in terms of ship ownership, observing international standards and playing an active role in international organizations and marine presence, he said.
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world’s largest lake or a full-fledged sea. It is estimated to contain between 17 billion and 33 billion barrels of proven oil reserves.
Caspian Sea littoral states are Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.

27th Fleet Off to High Seas

The Navy dispatched its 27th flotilla of warships to the high seas to protect cargo ships and oil tankers against pirates, Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said.